The purpose of this article is to open the "black box" of families in new Brazilian social programs based on the principle of "socio-familial matrix". Thanks to the collaboration of mothers fulfilling their obligations to get services and benefits, the programs have been quite successful. Nevertheless, very few aspects about these women are known: their biographies, values and subjectivity. Interview with beneficiaries of these program, reveal their difficulty to access the labor market due to their irreplaceable function in managing their households. The role of religion and social assistance in the organization of everyday life and in the maintainance of family respectability is assessed.
family; gender relations; religion; social assistance
